Book review: The Rosie Project.

Love isn't an exact science - but no one told Don Tillman. A thirty-nine-year-old geneticist, Don's never had a second date. So he devises the Wife Project, a scientific test to find the perfect partner. Enter Rosie - 'the world's most incompatible woman' - throwing Don's safe, ordered life into chaos. But what is this unsettling, alien emotion he's feeling?

I bought this book when I went to Guildford with Kate in half term after wanting it for ages and I'm so glad I did! 

This definitely isn't a typical romance story as Don is the most brilliant and different protagonist I've ever come across in a book. He leads an incredibly structured life, planned out to the minute and a complete sticker to the rules - most likely living with undiagnosed Aspergers syndrome. He's blunt and quite incapable of interpreting people's emotions which creates a comical but loveable character. Then Rosie enters his life at the same time as he decides to create 'The Wife Project'; a 16 page detailed to help him find the perfect wife (non-smoker, omnivore, doesn't drink/drinks moderately etc.) and throws his life into chaos. Don is obsessed with a new project - the Father Project which leads him on an adventure across continents and closer to Rosie.

The book is written in first person so we feel a connection with Don as he struggles with his inner conflict between helping Rosie or carrying on with his constant, structured lifestyle in his overly formal and somewhat geeky narration. The character development of Don is also brilliantly done by Simsion as each slight change is analysed by Don, showing his base personality is still there no matter how much his life has been thrown up in the air. 

The other important characters (Rosie, Gene and Claudia) are each given fantastic plots and their own quirks which make them equally loveable. Even more minor characters such as the Dean have little pieces to give them a 3D personality instead of being flat, filler characters with no real purpose but to move the plot on. 

I finished this incredibly quickly as I found it quite an easy read despite some technical genetics discussions! I was funny, quite sad at times and generally brilliant - I can't recommend this book enough - it's probably made it into my top 20 books and I will definitely be re reading it!

I hope you guys pick this up as it's such a great book!

Jess xx

February Wish List

This half term, I'm going shopping with Kate again so I decided to make a wish list! 

I actually have a bit of money so being able to hopefully take some items off this list next week is exciting! 

The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion
£7.99

I've been wanting to read this book for ages and every time I go into a shop, I read a little and it seems really good! I can't wait to read the entire thing! 

Sleek Blush
£4.49

The only blush I own is part of a palette so I would love to have a range of colours that suit my skin tone more and look more natural!

MUA lipstick
£1

I've already reviewed one of these lipsticks a while ago and I really want some more as they're great quality for their price!

MUA luxe velvet lip lacquer
£3

These have been catching my eye for a while and at that price, I can't resist! I just need to figure out which colour I want to buy! 

I know it isn't a very long list but hopefully that means I'm more likely to be able to buy everything on this list and maybe some more!

Jess xx

Once Upon A Time

It's time for the third 2014 Blogger Challenge post! This time we have been told to write about books!

I love books and I'm an avid reader - I chose my a level courses as I knew I would get to read a lot and be exposed to new books and I haven't been disappointed yet! 

Whenever I have any free time, I'm always either blogging, reading or downloading new books on to my kindle, I can't get enough! 

After this last season of Sherlock, I decided to compare the original stories with the series and downloaded Sherlock Holmes: The Ultimate Collection for 77p on my kindle.

The first novel I read out of the 4 included was A Study in Scarlet. 

I've said before that I read quicker on my kindle but I devoured this. It was so thrilling and I couldn't put it down! Arthur Conan Doyle has such a great writing style that makes it an incredibly easy read which is also easy to picture in your head. 

The actual plot is mostly different from the Sherlock adaptation and it felt like a completely different story once Sherlock and John were introduced which meant I couldn't predict it as I was expecting to be able to! The novel is split into two sections and I got extremely confused when reading the second but once you get into it, it makes complete sense and it was genius! 

I'm honestly so glad that I decided to read the collection as it's fantastic and completely different! The original novel was written in 1887 and I love the Victorian era so reading something from that time that isn't a school set text is really interesting! I've also studied about some parts of the history that is involved in this so it's also a very interesting read about early America (the pioneers - definitely worth researching about!) and the presentation from an English person of the time! 

I really hope that some of you have read or do read it as it's a really great book! 

Jess xx

Challenge post one.
Challenge post two.

Why I blog.

When I was younger, I always used to attempt to keep a diary but always ended up getting too paranoid that people would see it, start feeling silly for writing it in the first place or forget about it and then give it up. This blog is the longest I've kept a continuous stream of writing going for and I'm quite proud of it if I'm perfectly honest! I never in my wildest imagination believed that I would get anywhere with this blog, that I would give up after a week like my diaries, or just sit here and have no one read it. I've been writing for a year and a half and have over 10, 500 views and 55 followers so it's come so much further than I was expecting it to!

I can't really put my finger on why I love blogging or why I even blog in the first place, but these are some things I think probably help! 

I love writing.

The obvious one. I know several friends who tried blogging after my constant raving about it, wrote a couple of posts and then gave up. I understand that writing isn't for everyone but it did confuse me how they could start something and not want to continue it. 

I've always been quite creative, mainly taking arts and humanities subjects rather than science subjects at school and college and I've always loved writing, a poem of mine that I wrote as an extra piece of work for a year 9 English class was kept by my head of year and I was asked if I had copied it from Roger McGough! Over the years, the amount of creative writing I've been able to do in my classes has decreased to none which is quite disappointing, but that is why I love this blog so much, because it lets me write about whatever I want, in whatever style I want, when I want. It is still writing and it improves my individual style but without having to write pages of essays instead. 

If my current ideal job of working in Archaeology or History doesn't work out, then I want to become a journalist because I think my writing style suits the chatty but slightly formal tone of that line of work. 

The freedom.

Kind of leading on from the last point, I love thinking of this blog as having an online diary, and even though I know people I know read it (hi guys!), it feels nicer to just write and then send it off into the world wide web. A blog gives so much more freedom about what to write than a diary does because of that very fact. Other people read it and just talking about every day life can get rather boring, which is probably why I eventually gave up writing diaries in the first place! Blogging gives you that freedom unknown to other forms of writing as you have no barriers or restrictions unless you put them on yourself. One day, I could be talking about a book I've just read, a tv show I watched or a film I went to see, and the next, I could be doing a post like this, reviewing a make up product or having a little rant! There's no way of knowing because I just write what comes to mind that day. I thought this post up on the train home from college, there isn't really any planning that goes into these things, most posts are pretty much spontaneous! 

Some bloggers label themselves which I find limits what you can talk about. If I had to, mine would be considered a lifestyle blog as I will write about everything and anything!

The people you meet.

I've told you before that I met Kate from blogging and since then, I've spoken to lots of other lovely bloggers who are all amazing and super friendly! The blogging community is amazing and being involved in the 2014 Blogger challenge has made me become more involved in it which I'm really happy with, the girls that are participating are great! I get quite a few comments on my posts nowadays and each and every one makes me smile, I love replying and starting up a conversation with them, you never know what you could have in common!

Long story short, I'm so happy that I started blogging and I know that I'm going to continue for as long as I can, it's definitely become a part of me now! 

Jess xx

This week's favourites!

I thought that a nice thing to start doing would be a weekly update of things I've been loving over the last 7 days! 

1. This video.

My Mum showed me this on Facebook and I thought it was so odd and hilarious - I laugh every time I see it!

2. Which side of your brain is most dominant?

I love doing these types of quizzes for fun because they're nearly always accurate but I love seeing the reasons behind it! I've always been more creative so I'm not surprised at all that I got this result - it's quite ironic that I'm left handed though! 

3. Red Pandas

Surely they must be the cutest, funniest and silliest animals in existence?! Every time I'm not feeling happy, I'll watch this video and it makes me feel 100 times better because it's so damn cute! 

4. Strikingtruths.com

There are so many inspirational quotes on this website, I love to just go through them and read them sometimes, some are pretty great!

5. Girl Power.

This link is great and I love these tips, it made me laugh rather a lot!

Extra non-internet favourites of the week

- Hot Chocolate

- Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in 107; I love a good red lipstick and this one is particularly festive! 

- My black beanie hat from New Look; I've worn it three days this week!

- This month's issue of Elle magazine; there's great pieces about shopping the sales and how to style a navy blazer, one of my favourite pieces to wear!

- The Gift by Cecelia Ahern; I started it a couple of days ago and I'm hooked! I love everything she does and can't wait to get my hands on her new book, How to Fall In Love.

Hope you guys enjoyed this, should I do one of these every week? 

Send me links to things to add into next weeks one if you want - either in the comments or via my twitter, @theadorabled0rk!

Jess xx

P.S. I reached 50 followers so go and check my 50th followers blog out - Kristen from alittlelookinsideme.blogspot.co.uk!

On the same note...

I also found this short story by Haruki Murakami - it's incredible and will only take 5 minutes to read at most!

Jess xx

Petite Anglaise by Catherine Sanderson - review.

I said in my previous blog that I have many reviews that are in the works - here's the first!

Petite Anglaise - Catherine Sanderson

You may have seen my first thoughts of the book but now I have finished it, I'm sharing my thoughts of the book in its entirety! 

I'm not sure how I feel about this book if I'm perfectly honest. 

On one hand, I really loved the writing style and descriptions, it made me want to visit Paris even more than I did already! On the other hand however, I hated the characters. They irritated me to no end and I only kept reading because I wanted to see how it ended (and Catherine's writing style was really easy to read which made it a hard book to put down ironically...) and if any of them had a pivotal moment where they suddenly became likeable and nice people. 

I also liked how realistic it was but obviously being a memoir it was going to be. I felt like it was purely an escape for the author to brag about her sudden internet fame and her failing love life. 

Catherine seemed to revolve her life around the men she was involved with at the time and her success as a blogger which, for me, gave her an inhuman feel, as we find out less about the actual person, and more about the blogger. She seems to be under the impression that blogs are places that people hide behind as a shield for their true selves which annoyed me as I know plenty of people who use blogging to enhance their personality and become more confident in themselves - I know I have. 

I think throughout the book, Catherine comes across as self-centred and selfish, making her very unlikeable and in turn, make the reader unsympathetic towards her. You end up feeling sorry for her daughter as Catherine seems to not realise the effects that her actions will have on her once she is older. She seems to naively think that balancing a booming social life and raising a small child is possible and simple when it obviously isn't, especially when she is a single mother with no one to look after her daughter properly. 

Overall, while the writing style was lovely, Catherine was far too irritating and the book drips with self-deprecating rubbish as an attempt to justify her actions.

After I finished the book, I went on to her actual blog and found her quite funny and a seemingly lovely person. The book definitely shows that some people aren't who they make themselves out to be sometimes.

The bottom line is that I'm happy to have only spent 20p on it as I would have been highly disappointed if I had spent the original £12.99.

Jess xx

Half Term Holiday!

I'm away in Norwich this week! I haven't been on a family holiday since the summer before last so it's fantastic to be away properly again with my family! 

We got to the house Saturday afternoon and its so gorgeous; it's a thatched cottage with the main living area upstairs which is a bit different but works really well! The only problem is that the dog is scared of going up and down the stairs so its a bit difficult for him! 

I get a double bed in my room which is amazing, the room is gorgeous and perfect, I could happily have this room as my own at home!

I found the bookshelf as well and they have some really great books! I've found one that I've actually been looking at getting for a while - I'm looking forward to reading it over the week when I have time between my half term homework! 

My room is so pretty!

Such a good way to settle into the holiday!

I don't know when or if I will be able to post again until we get back on Saturday, you'll have to bear with me as we have no wifi at home! I'm currently sitting in McDonalds with Dad soaking up all of the internet I've missed in the last 2 days...there's been a lot!

Jess xx

Things I've had my eye on recently!

I haven't had the money to buy anything recently but I've been keeping my eye on a few things that I really like!

Make Up

Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in 107.

I love this lipstick, it's such an Autumn/Winter colour! I've heard really good things about this lipstick and when I found it in Boots, I tested the colour and it was a really deep pink-purple which looks amazing. It's £5.49 from Boots (link below).

Picture from here.

L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint.

I don't wear foundation much but I tested it at it's such a perfect match to my skin, I was so impressed! I have some nasty dry patches around my nose so I hope that this foundation doesn't stick to them like my current one!

I hope I can get this eventually!

Clothes

H! by Henry Holland Navy Belted Panda Dress.

I've had my eye on this dress pretty much since the current line was released. I need to save up so I can buy it because this dress is so me - animal print (actual animals, not things like leopard print!), navy and a skater style skirt! The long sleeves would also be great for winter as they add a little bit of warmth!

I love this dress so much.

H! by Henry Holland Navy Fox Knit Tunic Dress

Henry Holland is my favourite designer that is featured in Debenhams and I own a dress and a pair of shoes that are both gorgeous - this dress is amazing, who doesn't love a Fox?! I've seen this in the shops and it's such a soft material, I love it!

Who doesn't love a fox jumper?!

Books

Audrey the 60s

I found this book in the bookshop by college a few weeks ago and in my frees I sometimes go back to have a quick flick through it. It's a gorgeous big hardback with gorgeous pictures, some never seen before. I think this is a really great coffee table book and I really hope that I'll be able to own it one day!

I really want this book!

This is all I can think of at the moment and hopefully I can at least buy some of these over the next few months!
Jess xx

Petite Anglaise.

This is one of the two books I picked up at the last car boot sale I ventured to with Mark a month or so ago and I'm oh so glad that I did because I love it. I decided that it would be a good read for the train journey to/from college on Friday as I tend to sit alone (after a busy week, train relaxation and alone time is actually rather enjoyable!) so I grabbed it and shoved it in my bag as I ran out of the door. I'm so happy I did. 

This book is a memoir of an English blogger (actual name of the blog is petite Anglaise) who lives in France. I'm only 32 pages in but I'm hooked. Catherine's writing style is so easy to read and quite funny at points, it's really very hard to put down which I can see as being a problem! I can see it being my go-to book for my daily train journeys, except for when I'm lacking in space due to the copious amounts of books I have to carry for my lessons each Monday (you'd be surprised at how much you have to carry for only three lessons...). It's also a hardback so it's rather awkward to fit in my bag. It does mean that it doesn't have the risk of being ripped to shreds by my constant taking items in and out of my bag though. 

I'm really excited to finish reading it and hopefully I'll get some spare time to continue it! 

Jess xx

Tag! You're it.

So Kate has tagged me in some question chain things (http://smilingismyfavourite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/tag.html) which would be awesome if I knew 11 bloggers I'm friends with...

Here are the rules

- You answer the eleven questions the tagger has given you and make eleven more for the people you're going to tag!
- Tag eleven more bloggers
- Tell the people you have tagged to get their bums in gear (tell them you tagged them)
- No tagging back!

Already I'm having to say that I'm going to have to break some of these rules; I don't know eleven bloggers, let alone being friends with eleven bloggers, and I'm tagging Kate again so I don't look like a complete loser!

So, the questions...

1. Favourite drink ever? I will have to say either Diet Lemonade, Appletiser or Peach Ribena...they're all so good!!
2. The best film you ever saw and why? I have a lot of favourite films... Notting Hill - it's funny and cute and such a good rom com, Avengers - Iron man, Hulk, Thor, Loki and Captain America just shouldn't be allowed in a film together, too much awesome and WAY too much sass...honestly so so good!, My week with Marilyn - I love Marilyn Monroe and this film has Eddie Redmayne in it, what other reasons do I need? There are more but my final one of this list is... Aristocats - obviously I had to add a Disney film in here somewhere! It's such a cute film with the most awesome songs! What's not to love?!
3. The best book you ever read and why? The first book that jumps to mind when this question came up was Adorkable by Sarra Manning; It's the reason I'm writing this blog post after all! It's made me accept that being different is okay and I've accepted my weirdness! I'm happy with who I am and I'm not scared to stand out and be different from everyone now! As Jeane says, We have nothing to declare but our dorkiness and Never shield your oddness, but wear your oddness like a shield.
4. Your most worn pair of shoes? Both pairs are boots, one are my heeled riding boots and the others are a pair of snow boots that have been very useful over the last couple of weeks!



Snow boots! Aka the life savers!

My riding boots!





















5. Most recent purchase? Yay! A short question! I bought a bag of blue raspberry bon bons today from the weekly market in town! They're my favourite sweets ever!
6. The website you spend the most time on and why? Either Twitter because I find some funny conversation between people, or Tumblr because I get distracted by the awesome pictures! I do spend a lot of time on Facebook talking to people though...
7. Your favourite place in the world and why? I have a few. My bedroom because it's quiet and I'm surrounded by all of my stuff, it's nice to have a place that's completely personal. I like my living room too because then I get to spend time with my family which is always good. I love going to my grandma's too because it always smells nice and its just so warm and nice, and obviously the piano is there so yay for that! My last is Starbucks, doesn't really matter where but I do like the one by college because it's small and cozy. I always get my best ideas for my blog here, even though it's busy, it's where I get my alone time where I can just relax and think, and obviously hot chocolate!!!!!
8. What colour is your bedroom? It's a pale green, I got it done for my birthday when I moved up from secondary school so it looked more grown up from the purple, pink and blue with fairies I had before that...
9. Your favourite song? I answered this yesterday! My favourite song is Good Morning Sunshine by Alex Day, it always makes me happy! The link is on my last post!
10. What is your favourite season? I LOVE Autumn. Everything is changing colour and making the world pretty reds, golds and oranges. Plus it means that it's not boiling hot or freezing cold so you can wear nice clothes that don't cover up or show too much! Just in the middle and I love it!
11. Favourite word and why? Intricate - very complicated or detailed. It's a pretty word, and when I think of it, I imagine a huge tapestry that's got loads of patterns and stories woven in to it, and the more you look at it, the more you see.

I'm now tagging:
Clara: http://angrybirdssucks.blogspot.co.uk/
Sweeney: http://sween-bean.blogspot.co.uk/
2 good friends at college that created blogs after I told them about this one!

My questions to them:
1. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
2. Favourite book and why?
3. Space invaders or pacman?
4. If you could be a superhero, what would you be called and what powers would you have?
5. Favourite band and why?
6. What is the one thing you can't live without?
7. What job would you have if you could get any?
8. Favourite piece of clothing?
9. Favourite food?
10. Pirates or ninjas?
11. One band/artist you want to see live, dead or alive?

Hope you guys enjoyed!
Jess xx


hmm...

You know you just get the days where all you want to do is curl up in bed with hot chocolate and a good book, then forget the world for a bit? Yeah, having one right now :/
The problem is that I really don't have a specific idea why so it's even more annoying and confusing!
I guess it's just a mix of stress about exams coming up and missing Simon again. Plus the fact that I'm sure I've failed the biology end of topic test today too, probably doesn't help :( I hate days like this, it makes everything so difficult.
I'm always so positive about everything so the bad days are hard to deal with, they're few and far between these days luckily. Just wish I could snap out of it easier :(
Sorry about the lack of blogging recently though, I've been doing loads of work and I haven't had time to blog at all, but if I've had any ideas over the last few days, I've written them down so I can make a super awesome post sometime in the near future hopefully! :)
I've also got a new thing for wearing skirts and dresses; they're so comfortable and are actually really warm! Plus they always look prettier than jeans. Well, most of the time, anyway!
Ugh, I can feel a headache coming on...it really isn't my day :(
But yeah, Classics essay plan to do for tomorrow which will be interesting....
Jess xx